Failure
by MushroomT
Summary: I had failed him time and time again. I had failed to kill Stonefur, failed to bring him Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. Well, I had one last try. Somehow, someway, I could hear his voice murmuring in my ear. "One last chance."


**Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.**

**A/N: Hello! This is the oneshot I promised in my poll! Thank you all for voting. Here is the question: Which bad guy from Warriors do you hate the most? I now present you with the winner: Darkstripe! That honestely surprised me- I love Darkstripe. Anyway, here's your oneshot!**

It's over. Everything-over. The Clans- ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan, even ShadowClan; over. ThunderClan, the self-declared greatest Clan in the forest; finished. RiverClan, the fat, happy go lucky, proud fish-heads; done. WindClan, the fleet-footed yet weak Clan of the moor; destroyed. ShadowClan, the wily hunters of the night; oh, yes, it was all over. I stared down the slope, positioned in the spot that my very own paws had touched so many times before- but never would again.

The clearing was filled with cats: yowling, fighting, bleeding, crying, dieing. So different.

I remembered standing here as a young apprentice, pumped up for my first Gathering ever. My mentor, Tigerstar, then Tigerclaw, stood beside me. I couldn't remember much of that night; only excitement, mingled with fear, coursing through my body, and the moonlight streaming in through the trees. I would stand in the same spot many more times as a full warrior: respected and well-known. It was here that I had first seen the beauty in my own Brindleface; the first time I truly _saw _her tabby coat: the way it would blow back in the newleaf wind, the way her eyes shone in the dark.

But she was dead now, slaughtered by Tigerstar. When I realized what he had done, I had questioned my loyalty to him. How could I help the cat that had murdered my own mate in cold blood? For days, I thought of killing Goldenflower, or maybe Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. Finally, Tigerstar reached me, taking me here, to Fourtrees, to explain that Brindleface's death had been for the greater good. At first, I had to fight the urge to leap on him, to rip a life from him like he had from Brindleface.

Then, slowly at first, I began to understand. We had to destroy ThunderClan, and their stupid kittypet leader, Firestar. That despicable Clan had taken everything away from us-Tigerstar especially. Our dignity, our power, our position. If there was any way I could have helped Tigerstar destroy them, I would have done it. I knew I had failed him when he asked me to kill that halfClan scum, Stonefur, and I was so embarrassed when Blackfoot had to leap in and finish him off. But now- but now? Tigerstar is dead; killed by Scourge, a cat almost two times smaller than he was. Without Tigerstar, I don't know what to do. I'm so used to taking orders from him, doing everything for him; listening to his commands drip off his tongue like honey, watching as our intended victim flounders for their last breath- it's almost as though I can still hear his voice.

I remember the day before he led the raid on ThunderClan. The way he had crouched down in front of me, his amber eyes wild. The way he had urgently told me to stay with ThunderClan if the plan failed and he was defeated.

"You will serve as a spy," he had told me. "I trust you the most, Darkstripe. You're the only one I know will come through for me."

I probably should have been able to tell he was lying. In a way, I think I have always known that he had been. But those very words got me hooked: _I_ was Tigerstar's most loyal follower. _I _was his most trusted warrior. _I _was the most important cat he had. I loved his control. His eyes that would pierce you through to the soul, get inside you and turn you around like a kit rolls a ball of moss. His voice, both soft and smooth, but deep and commanding. It was a voice that a blind kit would follow. Tigerstar. Where had he gone?

But I don't need him to tell me what to do anymore. Life isn't worth living without Tigerstar. There is not a cat in this whole cursed forest that could lead us like Tigerstar did. Not one will ever possess his cunning wit, his battle skills, or even the look of calculation in his amber eyes. For a while, I had hope. I remember the day when Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were made apprentices, and the day Tawnypaw so wisely left ThunderClan to join ShadowClan. I always thought Bramblepaw would follow Tigerstar without question, always thought that Bramblepaw could become the key to our hierarchy within ThunderClan. But I was wrong. Bramblepaw, the blasted fool of a kit, wants nothing to do with us. When Tawnypaw came to seek shelter with her father, I thought she would be the one to fight with us; fight with her father.

Tawnypaw, however, had no interest in becoming like us either. She had only tried to get away from the critical eyes of her Clanmates, had only tried to be accepted. Yet again, I was wrong.

"Always wrong!" Tigerstar would roar, his tail lashing, eyes blazing.

I _could _play like a fool Clan cat, try and have hope. Rumor had it that Tigerstar had found a replacement for Goldenflower; a cat by the name of Sasha. I _could _take my place in ShadowClan; lay low until Sasha gave birth to Tigerstar's kits. I _could_ train them in his image, and then we could bring the whole forest down.

But what was the point? Besides Tigerstar himself and the alleged "Sasha", no one knew if she had actually been _real_, and even if she was, who could say whether she was pregnant by Tigerstar? _She_ could, of course, but why would anyone try to find her since the chance was small that they had mated anyway? If they had, would she even be pregnant? Would she let me train her kits? The likelihood of every idea seemed to get smaller as the next one came. There was failure in that, too.

I felt I had failed him time and time again, each time a bit more embarrassing than the last. My incorrect predictions about Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. My failure to kill Stonefur. Well, I had one last try. Somehow, someway, I could hear his voice murmuring in my ear:

_"One last chance."_

I launched myself down the slope.

??

I have no idea if it was fate or Tigerstar's spirit that propelled me into Firestar. Perhaps it was pure luck. Whatever it was, I found myself locked in combat with him. Even now, as we fought for our lives, I could hear Tigerstar's voice. I could remember the sensation of flying down the hill, as though one with ThunderClan again, like the old days. The way his voice tingled in my ear like mites, the dark brown leaves kicking up and sticking to my fur- the same color of brown as the patches on my pelt. The look of sheer surprise in Firestar's large green eyes. It was delicious. He said some foxdung about fighting _against_ BloodClan, for ThunderClan, and how I had no loyalty. I snarled back my own words, for once agreeing with him. It was, of course, a lie- I did have some loyalty left- to Tigerstar. All I wanted was to please Tigerstar, to kill Firestar, so that when I died, I could walk beside him. I would have redeemed my previous failures, I could be his deputy in the stars. I had that piece of kittypet foxdung pinned to the ground. I aimed for my final bite, leaned down…

Then Graystripe was on me. For the first few seconds, I thought I'd be fine- I was an older, more experienced warrior, and I could feel Tigerstar's presence. I struggled beneath Graystripe, and, with a flood of panic, found myself unable to budge him. Stupid cat! He had always been too interested in fresh-kill! My flailing became more desperate and frenzied, but a part of me knew it was too late. The gray tom's paw rose up, his claws glinting in the morning light. I watched them plunge down with terrifying slowness, ripping across my throat. And yet, I didn't feel much pain. Instead, a black tide of fear engulfed me. I was dieing. I was afraid. But worse even than that, I had failed Tigerstar yet again. I hadn't killed Firestar. I hadn't even killed anyone from ThunderrClan! Raw terror ripped through me as I mumbled my final words. I would never be able to remember them- just thinking of the terror made me crouch to the ground. Darkness ebbed at my vision until my sight was gone, and I was floating in blackness. I couldn't see anything, but I could still hear the sounds of the battle. I floated for what seemed like moons, swimming in utter blackness. There came a time, however, when I could see, faintly, a green glow.

_Is this StarClan?_ I wondered.

With every passing moment, I could see a little more. First it was grass. Gray grass, brittle- nothing like what the Clans were- and certainly nothing like what I had expected StarClan to be. The green glow intensified, and I realized it was a type of phosphorescent fungus. A forest began to take shape around me- pine, a bit like ShadowClan territory in the night, but much, much more terrifying. When I saw my paws take shape below me, I did not hesitate. I ran. I pelted through the trees, my amber eyes growing round as the moon. What _was_ this place? I kept running, faster, faster- and with each stride, my horror grew.

I hadn't seen any prey. What few puddles of water I came across were fetid and stagnant, and I couldn't force myself to drink from them. The ground beneath my paws oozed a slimy substance, a substance that felt strangely dark- as though it would worm through the cracks in your pad and into your heart. The place didn't smell like _anything_- much less any familiar scents. I couldn't pick up on Tigerstar's scent, nor Brindleface's, nor the scent of the kit that died of greencough. My son.

This place- this place was far more horrifying than my death.

Without Tigerstar, without Brindleface-I didn't know what to do. Well, I hadn't known what to do in the first place- but that was why I had attacked Firestar. I think I had always known that I'd die if I challenged ThunderClan's leader; I think I _wanted _to die. At least, that way, I thought I could have been with Tigerstar. He could, and would have told me what to do. How wrong I had been. This was worse than living without Tigerstar and with the Clans. At least I would have had company there. Here? I was alone. But some part of me- some small part, was still alive. There was still a seed of hope buried in my darkened heart, and it gave me light, on the inside at least. Hope. Hope, to someday find another cat, here in this horrible place, this dark forest. So I ran. Ran, and ran, and ran.

_Lost._

**A/N: I hope you liked it! I thought I'd post the others as well, just so you may know how many votes each cat got. The results are as follows:**

**1. Darkstripe, with six votes- twenty-three percent.**

**2. Clawface, with four votes- fifteen percent.**

**3. Tigerstar, with three votes- eleven percent.**

**4. Hawkfrost, with three votes- eleven percent.**

**5. Bone, with two votes- seven percent.**

**6. Scourge, with two votes- seven percent.**

**7. Mudclaw, with two votes- seven percent.**

**Thanks for reading! reviews and concrit are appreciated.**

**9. Other, with two votes- seven percent.**

**10. Blackstar, with zero votes- zero percent**


End file.
